After cruising through eight starts to open the year at Double-A Mobile, Roemer was roughed up following a promotion to Triple-A. The hitter-friendly PCL can be challenging for young pitchers and a 2.1 HR/9IP mark along with an uncharacteristically high 4.9 BB/9IP put Roemer permanently behind the eight ball. A return to Reno is on tap to begin 2011, while the lack of strikeouts at lower levels (career 6.9 K/9IP in the minors) should serve as an indication that he's more of an innings eater than a desirable prospect.

2010

The D-Backs' lack of talented upper-level pitching prospects was further compounded when Jarrod Parker underwent Tommy John surgery in the fall. If you look throughout their system, there are plenty of innings-eater types quietly ascending toward the big leagues, and that's exactly what Roemer projects to become. Lacking an overpowering fastball, Roemer relies on deception to miss bats and effectively pitch to contact. Those ingredients are combustible when the command wavers and he'll need to improve from the 2.9 BB/9IP mark that he had in 2009 as he moves up in the system. Roemer survived Double-A Mobile as a 22-year-old, so he'll likely get the chance to see how he fares in the Pacific Coast League at Triple-A Reno in 2010.